PLAINS, Pa. — There's more to the giant brick replica than meets the eye.
"Anybody that grew up in Plains knows what the brick is," says Fire Chief Mark Ritsick.
Leaders in Plains Township say this is about a new tradition centered around community.
"We're gonna do a New Year's Eve tradition," explained Plains Township Commissioner Robert Sax. "We're gonna try to start something new for the township. It's a replica of the center of our town. And we thought about it for a couple of years, and we're just putting it to reality right now."
"Born and raised in Plains and as a kid, the center of town was at the intersection of Carey and Main Street, and there was a brick wall there that you can sit on, and everyone hung out at the brick, so you tell your friends to come up meet you at the brick," added Ritsick.
Officials in Plains township will be closing down part of Carey Street for the brick drop, and they're going to have a non-alcoholic toast and live music.
"Yes, my wife and I, Allison, we have The Broken Road Duo. So we're performing music from starting with the 60s. We'll do a song we'll go through the decades-- 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, all the way up to 2023," said Ritsick.
The brick-and-wall replica was built by Deputy Fire Chief Mike Sebia. On New Year's Eve, the fire department will be assisting with the celebration, dropping the brick from the top of a ladder truck that will hoist it 60 feet in the air.
"Everything After this Covid just to get people back in touch with everybody, and it's just a fun tradition now we're just going to try to start and keep it for years to come," added Sax.
The festivities in Plains Township will begin right around 11 p.m. on New Year's Eve.
Check out WNEP's YouTube channel.